Phase-Locked Pivot Assembly

ABSTRACT

The present invention is related to a phase-locked pivot assembly, which includes a support component. A first shaft and a second shaft pivot to the support component. A first annular body is configured to rotate with the first shaft. The first annular body includes a first outer annular surface and a first sunken arc portion. A second annular body is configured to rotate with the second shaft and corresponds to the first annular body. The second annular body includes a second outer annular surface and a second sunken arc portion. The first sunken arc portion and the second outer annular surface are matched and selectively contact to each other to lock the first shaft. The second sunken arc portion and the first outer annular surface are matched and selectively contact to each other to lock the second shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pivotassembly, and more particularly, to a phase-locked pivot assembly.

2. Description of the Prior Art

With advanced technology, the touch panel is disposed on the notebookcomputer, the tablet computer and the smart phone widespread. Thenotebook computer with the touch panel can be switched as the tabletcomputer mode. The notebook computer includes a first casing and asecond casing. The first casing is an upper cover whereon the touchpanel is disposed, and the second casing is a base whereon electroniccomponents, the battery and the keyboard are disposed. The first casingcan rotate to be reverse to the second casing to switch the notebookcomputer into the tablet computer mode; in the meantime, the screen ofthe first casing faces outward. Structural relation of the first casingand the second casing includes following embodiments.

One of the embodiments disposes a first pivot portion on middle of alateral side of the first casing, and further disposes a second pivotportion on middle of a lateral side of the second casing. The firstpivot portion corresponds to the second pivot portion. The first casingcan rotate relative to the second casing via an assembly of the firstpivot portion and the second pivot portion, and an angle of the secondcasing relative to the first casing can be adjusted accordingly. Thefirst casing can rotate relative to the second casing to 180 degrees,the back of the first casing contacts against the second casing, thescreen of the first casing faces outward, and the notebook computer canbe utilized as the tablet computer for handheld touch operation.However, the conventional pivot mechanism has drawbacks of weak strengthand short service life.

Another embodiment disposes a biaxial pivot assembly between the firstcasing and the second casing. The biaxial pivot assembly includes afirst shaft and a second shaft, which are respectively connected to thefirst casing and the second casing. The first casing can rotate relativeto the second casing within a range of 0˜360 degrees. As the firstcasing rotates relative to the second casing to 360 degrees, the back ofthe first casing contacts against the second casing, and the screen onthe first casing faces outward. The conventional biaxial pivot assemblyhas drawbacks of inconvenient operation and sluggish rotation due toasynchronous connection between the first shaft and the second shaft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a phase-locked pivot assembly to lock thefirst shaft and the second shaft step by step for providing fluentrotation and convenient operation.

According to the claimed invention, a phase-locked pivot assemblyincludes a support component, a first shaft, a second shaft, a firstannular body and a second annular body. The support component includes afirst contacting portion and a second contacting portion. The firstshaft pivots to the support component. The first shaft and the secondshaft pivot to the support component respectively. The first annularbody is configured to rotate together with the first shaft. The firstannular body includes a first outer annular surface and a first sunkenarc portion. The second annular body is configured to rotate togetherwith the second shaft and corresponds to the first annular body. Thesecond annular body includes a second outer annular surface and a secondsunken arc portion. The first sunken arc portion is matched with thesecond outer annular surface, the first sunken arc portion and thesecond outer annular surface selectively contact to each other to lockthe first shaft. The second sunken arc portion is matched with the firstouter annular surface, the second sunken arc portion and the first outerannular surface selectively contact to each other to lock the secondshaft.

According to an embodiment of the claimed invention, the phase-lockedpivot assembly further includes a first gear and a second gear. Thefirst gear is disposed on the first shaft in a surrounding manner. Thesecond gear is disposed on the first annular body and engaged with thefirst gear. An axial direction of the second gear aligns with an axialdirection of the first annular body.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, a tooth amount ofthe first gear is greater than a tooth amount of the second gear.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, a tooth ratio ofthe first gear to the second gear is one point five.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, the first annularbody and the second gear pivot to the support component, and are locatedbetween the first shaft and the second shaft.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, the second annularbody is disposed on the second shaft in a surrounding manner.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, the phase-lockedpivot assembly further includes a third annular body disposed on thefirst shaft in a surrounding manner. The third annular body includes athird outer annular surface, and the third outer annular surfaceselectively contacts the first outer annular surface.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, the supportcomponent includes a first supporting plate and a second supportingplate. The first annular body and the second annular body are locatedbetween the first supporting plate and the second supporting plate.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, the supportcomponent further comprises a first contacting portion and a secondcontacting portion. The first shaft further comprises a firstconstraining portion corresponding to the first contacting portion. Thesecond shaft further comprises a second constraining portioncorresponding to the second contacting portion.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, the firstconstraining component is a protrusion protruding from the first shaftsubstantially along a radial direction of the first shaft. The secondconstraining component is a protrusion protruding from the second shaftsubstantially along a radial direction of the second shaft.

According to the embodiment of the claimed invention, the firstcontacting portion and the second contacting portion substantially areprotrusions protruding from the support component.

The phase-locked pivot assembly of the present invention can lock thefirst shaft and the second shaft step by step. Comparing to the priorart, the present invention provides the phase-locked pivot assembly withadvantages of fluent rotation, convenient operation and durable quality.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an electronic device at zero-degree modeaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded diagram of the phase-locked pivot assemblyaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an assembly diagram of the phase-locked pivot assembly at thezero-degree mode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of the phase-locked pivot assembly in differentoperation modes according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the electronic device at 180-degree modeaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the phase-locked pivot assembly at the 180-degreemode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the electronic device at 360-degree modeaccording to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of the phase-locked pivot assembly at the 360-degreemode according to the embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 1. An electronic device 10 includes a first casing11, a second casing 12 and a phase-locked pivot assembly 13. In thisembodiment, the electronic device 10 can be, but not limited to, thenotebook computer. The first casing 11 is an upper cover whereon thetouch panel is disposed, and the second casing 12 can be a base whereonthe electronic components, the battery and the keyboard are disposed.The electronic device 10 includes two phase-locked pivot assemblies 13disposed between the first casing 11 and the second casing 11 insymmetry.

Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is an exploded diagram of thephase-locked pivot assembly 13 according to the embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 3 is an assembly diagram of the phase-lockedpivot assembly 13 in another view according to the embodiment of thepresent invention. The phase-locked pivot assembly 13 includes a supportcomponent 20, a first shaft 30, a second shaft 40, a first annular body50, a second annular body 60, a third annular body 70, a first gear 81and a second gear 82. The support component 20 includes a firstsupporting plate 21 and a second supporting plate 22, the firstsupporting plate 21 and the second supporting plate 22 are spaced fromeach other in parallel. A plurality of pivot holes (not labeled infigures) is formed on the first supporting plate 21 and the secondsupporting plate 22. The support component 20 further includes a firstcontacting portion 23 and a second contacting portion 24, as shown inFIG. 3. In this embodiment, the first contacting portion 23 and thesecond contacting portion 24 substantially are protrusions protrudingfrom a surface of the first supporting plate 21 opposite to the secondsupporting plate 22.

The first shaft 30 and the second shaft 40 respectively pivot to thesupport component 20, which means the first shaft 30 and the secondshaft 40 rotatably pass through the corresponding pivot holes on thefirst supporting plate 21 and the second supporting plate 22,respectively. The first shaft 30 and the second shaft 40 are inparallel, as shown in FIG. 3. The first shaft 30 includes a firstconstraining portion 31, and a position of the first constrainingportion 31 corresponds to a position of the first contacting portion 23.The second shaft 40 includes a second constraining portion 41, and aposition of the second constraining portion 41 corresponds to a positionof the second contacting portion 24. In this embodiment, the firstconstraining portion 31 is a protrusion protruding from the first shaft30 substantially along a radial direction of the first shaft 30, and thesecond constraining portion 41 is a protrusion protruding from thesecond shaft 40 substantially along a radial direction of the secondshaft 40. The first constraining portion 31 and the second constrainingportion 41 rotate together with the first shaft 30 and the second shaft40, respectively. Steps are formed between two ends of the firstconstraining portion 31 and the first shaft 30, and further formedbetween two ends of the second constraining portion 41 and the secondshaft 40. Two ends of the first constraining portion 31 can bealternatively blocked by the first contacting portion 23, so as toconstrain a rotary direction and a rotary angle of the first shaft 30.Two ends of the second constraining portion 41 can be alternativelyblocked by the second contacting portion 24, so as to constrain a rotarydirection and a rotary angle of the second shaft 40.

The first annular body 50 is configured to rotate together with thefirst shaft 30. The first annular body 50 includes a first outer annularsurface 51 and a first sunken arc portion 52. The sunken arc portion issunk along a radial direction of the annular body. A section view of thefirst outer annular surface 51 is a major arc which is not a completecircle, and a section view of the first sunken arc portion 52 is a minorarc. The second annular body 60 is configured to rotate together withthe second shaft 40 and corresponds to the first annular body 50. Thesecond annular body 60 includes a second outer annular surface 61 and asecond sunken arc portion 62. A section view of the second outer annularsurface 61 is a major arc which is not the complete circle, and asection view of the second sunken arc portion 62 is a minor arc. Thefirst sunken arc portion 52 and the second outer annular surface 61 arematched and selectively contact to each other to lock the first shaft30. The second sunken arc portion 62 and the first outer annular surface51 are matched and selectively contact to each other to lock the secondshaft 40. It is to say, the first sunken arc portion 52 and the secondouter annular surface 61 have the similar curvature, the second sunkenarc portion 62 and the first outer annular surface 51 have the similarcurvature. When the second outer annular surface 61 contacts against thefirst sunken arc portion 52, the first shaft 30 is locked withoutrotation. Because the second outer annular surface 61 is engaged withthe first sunken arc portion 52, the first annular body 50 and the firstshaft 30 do not rotate, and the second outer annular surface 61 canrotate relative to the first sunken arc portion 52 due to rotary freedomof the second shaft 40. Further, when the first outer annular surface 51contacts against the second sunken arc portion 62, the second shaft 40is locked without rotation. Because the first outer annular surface 51is engaged with the second sunken arc portion 62, the second annularbody 60 and the second shaft 40 do not rotate, and the first outerannular surface 51 can rotate relative to the second sunken arc portion62 due to rotary freedom of the first shaft 30.

Please refer to FIG. 2 to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram of thephase-locked pivot assembly 13 in different operation modes according tothe embodiment of the present invention. Several components of thephase-locked pivot assembly 13 are omitted herein for simplicity. Inthis embodiment, the second annular body 60 is disposed on the secondshaft 40 in a surrounding manner, and the second annular body 60 canrotate with the second shaft 40. The first annular body 50 can rotatetogether with the first shaft 30 via a combination of the first gear 81and the second gear 82. The first gear 81 is disposed on the first shaft30 in a surrounding manner, so that the first gear 81 rotates accordingto rotation of the first shaft 30. The second gear 82 is disposed on thefirst annular body 50, and an axial direction of the second gear 82aligns with an axial direction of the first annular body 50. The secondgear 82 and the first annular body 50 are located between the firstshaft 30 and the second shaft 40, and further pivot to the firstsupporting plate 21 and the second supporting plate 22. The first gear81 is engaged with the second gear 82. When the first shaft 30 rotates,the first gear 81 drives the second gear 82 and the first annular body50 to rotate. In another embodiment, the first gear and the second gearcan be omitted to directly dispose the first annular body on the firstshaft in the surrounding manner, a gap between the first shaft and thesecond shaft can be decreased and/or radiuses of the first annular bodyand the second annular body can be increased, so that the first sunkenarc portion can selectively contact against the second outer annularsurface to lock the first shaft, and the second sunken arc portion canselectively contact against the first outer annular surface to lock thesecond shaft.

In this embodiment, a tooth amount of the first gear 81 is greater thana tooth amount of the second gear 82, and a tooth ratio of the firstgear 81 to the second gear 82 is one point five (ratio=1.5). It is tosay, the second gear 82 and the first annular body 50 rotate to 270degrees when the first gear 81 and the first shaft 30 rotate to 180degrees. Besides, the third annular body 70 is disposed on the firstshaft 30 in a surrounding manner and adjacent to the first gear 81. Thethird annular body 70 includes a third outer annular surface 71, whichselectively contacts the first outer annular surface 51. The first outerannular surface 51 and the third outer annular surface 71 rotatablycontacts to each other during rotation of the first shaft 30 and thefirst annular body 50 except that the first sunken arc portion 52 facesthe third annular body 70, so as to increase rotary stability. The firstannular body 50, the second annular body 60 and the third annular body70 are disposed in parallel and located between the first supportingplate 21 and the second supporting plate 22. The gear ratio of the firstgear to the second gear is not limited to the value mentioned above, anddepends on design demand. For example, the gear ratio is designed toconform situation that the first sunken arc portion does not contact thesecond outer annular surface when the first shaft does not rotate, andthe first sunken arc portion faces the second outer annular surface tounlock the second shaft when the first shaft rotates to 180 degrees.

A detailed operating description of the phase-locked pivot assembly 13is illustrated as following. An angle between the first casing 11 andthe second casing 12 can be zero degree, which is shown in FIG. 1; inthe meanwhile, state of the phase-locked pivot assembly 13 is shown inFIG. 3. Further, FIG. 4( a) is a top/bottom view of the said state ofthe phase-locked pivot assembly 13. At the time, the second sunken arcportion 62 contacts the first outer annular surface 51, the second shaft40 is locked because the second sunken arc portion 62 is constrained bythe first outer annular surface 51. The first shaft 30 is rotatable, anend of the first constraining portion 31 is blocked by the firstcontacting portion 23, and the first shaft 30 only can rotate at thecounterclockwise direction, which is referred by FIG. 4( a).

The angle between the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 can be180 degrees, which is shown in FIG. 5; in the meanwhile, state of thephase-locked pivot assembly 13 is shown in FIG. 6. Further, FIG. 4( b)is a top/bottom view of the said state of the phase-locked pivotassembly 13. As the first casing 11 rotates relative to the secondcasing 12 to 180 degrees, the first shaft 30 rotates to 180 degrees atthe counterclockwise direction, which is referred by FIG. 4( b). At thetime, the first gear 81 and the first shaft 30 rotate to 180 degrees,the first gear 81 rotates at the counterclockwise direction, the secondgear 82 and the first annular body 50 are driven to rotate to 270degrees at the clockwise direction, and the first sunken arc portion 52rotates to 270 degrees at the clockwise direction to face the secondsunken arc portion 62. The other end of the first constraining portion31 is blocked by the first contacting portion 23 after 180-degreerotation, and the first shaft 30 stops rotation at the counterclockwisedirection, which is referred by FIG. 4( b). The second shaft 40 isunlocked because the second sunken arc portion 62 is not limited to thefirst outer annular surface 51. An end of the second constrainingportion 41 is blocked by the second contacting portion 24, and thesecond shaft 40 only can rotate at the clockwise direction, which isreferred by FIG. 4( b).

The angle between the first casing 11 and the second casing 12 can be360 degrees, which is shown in FIG. 7; in the meanwhile, state of thephase-locked pivot assembly 13 is shown in FIG. 8. Further, FIG. 4( c)is a top/bottom view of the said state of the phase-locked pivotassembly 13. As the first casing 11 rotates relative to the secondcasing 12 from 180 degrees to 360 degrees, the second casing 12 rotatesrelative to the second casing 12 to 180 degrees, the second shaft 40 andthe second annular body 60 rotate to 180 degrees, the second shaft 40rotates at the clockwise direction, which is referred by FIG. 4( c), thesecond sunken arc portion 62 rotates to 180 degrees to be reverse to thefirst sunken arc portion 52, and the first sunken arc portion 52contacts the second outer annular surface 61. The first sunken arcportion 52 is constrained by the second outer annular surface 61, sothat the first shaft 30 is locked without rotation. Meanwhile, thesecond constraining portion 41 rotates to 180 degrees, the other end ofthe second constraining portion 41 is blocked by the second contactingportion 24, and the second shaft 40 only can rotate at thecounterclockwise direction, which is referred by FIG. 4( c) without theclockwise rotation, which is referred by FIG. 4( b).

When the user intends to switch the electronic device 10 from 360-degreemode to zero degree mode, the second shaft 40 rotates to 180 degreesbecause the first shaft 30 is locked at the 360-degree mode, as shown inFIG. 4( c) to FIG. 4( b). After, the second shaft 40 is locked and thefirst shaft 30 rotates to the zero degree mode via 180-degree rotation,as shown in FIG. 4( b) to FIG. 4( a). The detailed illustration is thesame as above-mentioned one, and is omitted herein for simplicity.

In conclusion, the phase-locked pivot assembly of the present inventioncan lock the first shaft and the second shaft step by step.

Comparing to the prior art, the present invention provides thephase-locked pivot assembly with advantages of fluent rotation,convenient operation and durable quality.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A phase-locked pivot assembly comprising: asupport component; a first shaft and a second shaft pivoting to thesupport component respectively; a first annular body configured torotate together with the first shaft, the first annular body comprisinga first outer annular surface and a first sunken arc portion; and asecond annular body configured to rotate together with the second shaftand corresponding to the first annular body, the second annular bodycomprising a second outer annular surface and a second sunken arcportion; wherein the first sunken arc portion is matched with the secondouter annular surface, and the first sunken arc portion and the secondouter annular surface selectively contact to each other to lock thefirst shaft, the second sunken arc portion is matched with the firstouter annular surface, and the second sunken arc portion and the firstouter annular surface selectively contact to each other to lock thesecond shaft.
 2. The phase-locked pivot assembly of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first gear disposed on the first shaft in a surroundingmanner; and a second gear disposed on the first annular body and engagedwith the first gear, wherein an axial direction of the second gearaligns with an axial direction of the first annular body.
 3. Thephase-locked pivot assembly of claim 2, wherein a tooth amount of thefirst gear is greater than a tooth amount of the second gear.
 4. Thephase-locked pivot assembly of claim 2, wherein a tooth ratio of thefirst gear to the second gear is 1.5.
 5. The phase-locked pivot assemblyof claim 2, wherein the first annular body and the second gear pivot tothe support component, the first annular body and the second gear arelocated between the first shaft and the second shaft.
 6. Thephase-locked pivot assembly of claim 2, wherein the second annular bodyis disposed on the second shaft in a surrounding manner.
 7. Thephase-locked pivot assembly of claim 2, further comprising: a thirdannular body disposed on the first shaft in a surrounding manner, thethird annular body comprising a third outer annular surface, and thethird outer annular surface selectively contacting the first outerannular surface.
 8. The phase-locked pivot assembly of claim 1, whereinthe support component comprises a first supporting plate and a secondsupporting plate, the first annular body and the second annular body arelocated between the first supporting plate and the second supportingplate.
 9. The phase-locked pivot assembly of claim 1, wherein thesupport component further comprises a first contacting portion and asecond contacting portion, the first shaft further comprises a firstconstraining portion corresponding to the first contacting portion, thesecond shaft further comprises a second constraining portioncorresponding to the second contacting portion.
 10. The phase-lockedpivot assembly of claim 9, wherein the first constraining component is aprotrusion protruding from the first shaft substantially along a radialdirection of the first shaft, the second constraining component is aprotrusion protruding from the second shaft substantially along a radialdirection of the second shaft.
 11. The phase-locked pivot assembly ofclaim 10, wherein the first contacting portion and the second contactingportion substantially are protrusions protruding from the supportcomponent.